Insulated holder and tightener for wire fences



Oct. 6, 1942. c. R. sAcHs 2,297,302

INSULATED HOLDER AND T IGHTENER FOR WIRE FENCES Filed June 23, 1941 5v 13 J J1 10 7 F 6 Carl. A. Sac/2s ATTORNEYS Patented Oct. 6, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE INSULATED HOLDER AND TIGHTENER FOR WIRE FENCES 1 Claim.

This invention relates to holders and tighteners for wire fences and the like, and more particu- Iar'ly to an insulated device for attaching electric fence wires to supporting posts and having provision for the tightening or tautening of the wire at the time of attachment to the post and also from time to time after original attachment to take up such slack in the wire as may occur because of natural stretching due to changes in temperature or from other causes.

The prime object of the invention is to improve generally upon such devices but more particularly to simplify structure so as to minimize the cost thereof without sacrificing strength and durability, and at the same time to increase the efficiency and practicability of such devices.

Other objects and advantages to be attained will hereinafter more fully appear.

The invention consists in the novel general structure and in the particular parts and combinations and arrangements thereof as hereinafter described and afterwards defined in the appended claim, reference being had to the accompanying drawing illustrating a practical adaptation of the invention, in which,

Figure 1 is a view, in side elevation, showing the device of the present invention applied in the attachment of a fence wire to an end post;

Figure 2 is a view, mainly in top plan, but having portions of the wire holder broken away and shown in section to illustrate certain details of the structure; and

Figure 3 is a perspective View of the holder detached from the supporting post and illustrating how the fence wire is carried about the spool member of the holder for the attachment of the wire to a corner post.

Referring now to the drawing in detail, the numeral l designates a supporting post (in the illustration, an end post) to which the looped end position 2 of a fence wire 3 is attached in accordance with the present invention.

The holder of the present invention is designated generally by the numeral 4, and, as shown,

it is of bifurcated form at one end, that is to say,

it comprises a flat elongated stem or shank portion 5 with a pair of transversely spaced leg members or wings 6 at one end thereof, the opposite end portion of the stem or shank 5 being formed into a rounded hook I, while intermediate its end portions the stem or shank 5 is provided with a circular opening 8 which communicates with an adjoining slot 9 extending longitudinally therefrom toward the hooked end of the stem or shank, forming a keyhole-shape opening.

The hooked portion 1 of the device is provided primarily for the attachment of a conventional puller implement (not shown) which is obviously secured temporarily to the post I and the holder 4 for the purpose of pulling the wire 3,

after the wire is attached to the spool member of the holder as will be presently more fully described, and temporarily holding the holder 4 close enough to the post I to permit the attachment of a chain [0, as will now be described.

As shown, the chain In is provided at one end with a ring II and at its opposite end with a T-shape member [2, and when applied to attach the holder 4 to the post I the chain is looped around the post, as at i3, and taken through the ring II. The T-shape member I2 is then passed through the circular opening 8 in the stem or shank 5 of the holder and the chain is drawn through the opening until it becomes substantially tautened between the opening and the post, after which one of the adjacent links of the chain is moved edgewise into the narrow slot 9 which is of a width slightly greater than the thickness of the link, the link thus inserted in the slot being held against movement transversely of the slot by the two adjoining links at opposite ends of the inserted link, it being understood that, prior to the application of the chain !9 to the post I and the holder 4, the conventional puller implement (not shown) is temporarily attached to the post I and the hooked end 7 of the holder 4 and operated to draw the holder toward the post and tauten the fence wire 3 as hereinabove described.

Preferably, the end portion of holder 4, where it is bifurcated to produce the legs or wings 6, is divided longitudinally, or, in other words, it is made in two sections, one of which has the stem or shank 5 formed integrally therewith, while the other section is merely provided with a shorter rightangular ear 5 which is riveted fiatwise against the adjacent portion of the stem or shank 5, as at 5 It is further preferable to lin the bifurcated end portion of the holder 4 with sheet rubber, compressed fiber or other suitable insulation material 6 which material may be cemented or otherwise attached to the inner faces of the legs or wings 6 of the holder in any approved or conventional manner.

Secured between the legs or wings 6 of the holder 4 is a spool l4 which is preferably made of porcelain, but, obviously, the same may be made of any other nonelectric or insulation material possessing the requisite rigidity, strength and durability. This spool, as shown, is mounted on a bolt extending through the bore thereof, the bolt being also inserted through alined apertures provided therefor in the legs or wings 6 of the holder. A retaining nut l6 provided on the bolt I5 is removable, at will, so that the bolt may be withdrawn and the spool l4 detached from the holder and replaced at such time that it may be desirable or necessary.

The removability and replaceability of the spool I4 is especially advantageous and practical when the holder 4 is applied to a corner post instead of an end post as shown in Figures 1 and 2. The use of the holder on a corner post, that is to say, when employed for'holding the corner porton of a fence wire, is illustrated in Figure 3, wherein a fragmentary portion of the wire 3 is illustrated as engaged about the spool M of the holder 4, and the post being omitted, but, of

course, it being understood that the. holder 4, in

this particular use, is attached to the post by the chain II] in the same manner as illustrated in Figures 1 and 2. By having the spool l4 removable and replaceable, the fence wire 3 may be attached to the holder without cutting the wire and afterwards joining the severed ends thereof in order to get around the spool l4, that is to say, it is an easy matter to detach the nut I6, remove the bolt [5 so as to detach the spool 14 and then replace and secured the spool l4 after the wire 3 is placed between the legs or wings 6 of the holder.

In addition to the structural advantages of the holder 4, as a whole, there is a further advantage in the special provision of the insulation lining within the bifurcated portion of the holder, by which provision the fence wire 3 cannot accidently come into contact with the adjacent metal portions of the holder, thus making the device especially adaptable for the holding of fence wires which are charged with electricity. However, the device is not limited to the holding of electric fence wires but is equally well adaptable for holding the wires of other kinds of fences in general.

While the structure illustrated in the drawing and herein described in detail is a practical embodiment of the invention, it is obvious that considerable modification and alteration is permissible within the scope of the appended claim.

The invention, therefore, is not limited to the specific construction and arrangement shown.

What I claim is: A holder and tightener for electric fence wires,

' comprising a bifurcated body member, a wire retaining spool detachably secured to and between the bifurcated portions of the body member and insulated therefrom, a shank formed on the body member and having a hooked outer end and a key hole shaped opening intermediate its ends, the narrow portion of the opening extending longitudinally of the shank, a chain having a ring member at one end whereby the portion of the chain adjacent the ring member may be looped about a post and passed through the ring member for attaching the chain to the post, and the opposite end portion of the chain adapted to be passed through said opening for disposal of any one of the links through the narrow portion of the opening far adjustably connecting the shank to the chain.

CARL R. SACHS. 

